KALAMAZOO, MI -- As roommates almost a year-and-a-half ago, Jenna Newman and Kylie Ferguson would've thought you were nuts if you mentioned they would own a hot dog shop.

But since October, the friends and now business partners have slowly been taking over ownership of Dogs With Style, 410 S. Burdick St. Newman, 31, worked at Dogs With Style last spring and jumped at the chance to take over for Mark Zulauf, who opened Dogs With Style in 2002.

"Mark mentioned he wanted to retire and I liked the place. I didn’t want it to close down," said Newman, who is the owner.

Newman, 31, and her business partner Ferguson, 23, plan to adjust the hours to take advantage of downtown Kalamazoo's late-night crowd. They are open from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Dogs With Style will also be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday for the lunch crowd.

The restaurant is located between the Kalamazoo State Theatre and Harvey's on the Mall, giving them good access to some of the nightlife crowd who have few late-night dining options downtown.

Newman said they'll upgrade the small restaurant's interior, tweak the menu to include new items, including "Rippers," or deep fried hot dogs, and some additional vegetarian options.

Newman said they plan to keep some of the popular staples, such as the Coney Dog and the Chicago Dog (mustard, tomatoes, onion, cucumber, dill pickle, jalapenos, celery salt and topped with a pepperoncini pepper), although they may be slightly altered.

Newman also said she will install ventilation hoods over the fryers to reduce the French fry odor that can be overwhelming inside the restaurant.

The new ownership also wants to include more customer input. A chalk board will be used as a platform for customers to suggest hot dog ideas. The one with the most support will become a monthly feature and the person responsible can name it.

A patron recently suggested they carry a BBQ Mac 'N' Cheese Dog. Watson put it on the menu, much to the customer's surprise, Newman said. It's a permanent menu item now, Newman said.

Another point of emphasis will be increased vegetarian options beyond just a veggie dog. They plan to add a hummus and vegetable dog and possibly falafel.

“Kalamazoo has a large vegetarian population," Ferguson said.

This is the first business venture for both Newman, who previously worked for 10 years at Stryker Corp., and Ferguson, who worked as a server at the Battle Creek Country Club for four years and then Studio Grill in downtown Kalamazoo before joining Dogs With Style.